Due to travel, the plane being busy, and other issues, the earliest Justin and I could fly for another lesson was mid-day today. The first Wednesday of the month is the safety meeting at the aero club, so I stay late at work rather than go home, then drive back to the base. So missing a couple hours in the middle of the day wasn’t going to kill anyone. It was already getting warm (mid to upper 70s) and there was a cold front that had just moved in, but was already getting shoved out by another front. So the winds were going to be shifting and it was predicted to be a bit bumpy (and it was).
Started out with an ILS 8 ABQ approach, with the full DME arc (the northern arc). Rather than use the GPS, which makes flying a DME arc as simple as it gets, set the first 430 to the nearest VOR screen, which is as close as it gets to a DME in 531, and set the second 430 to the traffic screen. Then used the DME + VOR to fly the arc, which is a bit more complicated than letting the GPS tell you “turn right” / “turn left”. Stayed within .3 miles of the arc, which is well within the practical test standards of 1 mile in either direction. The winds aloft were moving pretty good, which made the arc a bit fun to fly. Controller gave us an altitude restriction of 7500′ after we were established on the approach, and then didn’t remove it until we were so far down the approach that the glideslope was already pegged, meaning we had to do a localizer approach. Had some issues with getting it setup right — got so focused on the altitude problems that I let myself get too far north of course. Corrected and fixed it up marginally well. Need to be sharper.
After going missed, went out to the northwest practice area and did some slow flight. It was hot and the updrafts and downdrafts were everywhere, so there were a couple of times where I was sitting right at stall speed in slow flight, with the power wide open, still losing altitude. Gotta love the hot days. Nailed the steep turns and altitude recover.
Then shot the GPS 17 ABQ approach to finish the day. We got vectored to the FAF, but Justin had entered the approach starting at a different IAF. During a discussion about how to bend the GPS to our will, let myself stay high too long. Had to dive the runway a bit, which isn’t so fun. He had me break out early, so that we could make sure to hit the landing. With construction going on, runway 17 is a bit under 4000′ long, so there’s a need for slightly more care than the other runways (like 8, which is 14000′ long). Anyway, I get back on glideslope, with a stabilized approach established and start doing my pre-landing checks. I’m cleared to land from the tower, which I acknowledge. The plane’s ready (which isn’t a surprise, since it’s check is “fuel selector still in on position”). I do a check of the runway for any obstructions when I notice a problem — there’s a helicopter hovering right over the touchdown markers about 5′ off the ground, leading to the conversation:
me: Tower, 1XL, There appears to be a helicopter on runway 17.
tower: Right. [helicopter callsign] depart to the west. 1XL still cleared to land runway 17.
Which seems harmless, except I’m not sure how the tower could clear me to land on an obstructed runway. I think he forgot there was a helicopter hovering there, which seems like an odd thing to forget. Anyway, we were a good mile apart, so no issues at all. But it is a good reminder to always look for other aircraft and obstructions on the runway.
1.5 hours total time, 1.3 simulated instrument. I now have 36.1 hours simulated, so only 3.9 to go, which should be about three lessons. Also need 1.7 hours of cross-country, which I’m going to have to do real soon now. And to pass the written test. I’m now doing pretty well on the sporty’s practice tests, so I’m going to meet with the ground instructor at del sol on Friday to go over some things and get my sign off for the written, then probably do that real soon. Should be done with the IR by the end of May.